Somerville, MA – As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau marks the one-year anniversary of opening its doors, consumer advocate and U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren praised the agency's work on behalf of older Americans.

"I'm proud that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has stood up for seniors across this country and helped protect them from financial abuse," said Warren. "We honor our parents, grandparents and all older Americans by safeguarding their financial security from those who would prey on them during retirement."

The CFPB, which reaches the one-year anniversary of opening its doors on July 21st, has taken a number of steps to protect seniors from financial tricks and traps, including:

• Announcing a public inquiry to learn more about how older Americans are financially exploited and best practices for elder financial management. In 2010, seniors lost at least $2.9 billion to financial exploitation.
• Creating a guide to increase consumers' understanding of reverse mortgages
• Gathering critical information regarding financial abuse of older Americans by holding town halls across the country, including a Boston forum on February 25, 2012

Warren is widely credited with the idea for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and she served as Assistant to the President and Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury in 2010 and 2011, with the authority to set up the consumer agency. Warren also served as Chair of the bipartisan Congressional Oversight Panel. For her clear and fearless oversight efforts on behalf of the American people, Time Magazine named her one of the "New Sheriffs of Wall Street," and the Boston Globe named her Bostonian of the Year in 2009.